"26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:26-28)

Monday, June 4, 2012

Transformation of the Unveiled Faces

Dear Father,

I praise You that You are always acting on our behalf to prevent our hearts from being hardened. You refuse to let us delight in wickedness or to let us be drawn to what is evil. Thank You for removing the veil from over our eyes so that we may be transformed into Your Likeness with ever-increasing glory. Please show us that the process of this transformation involves Godly sorrow that leads to repentance, sharing in Your comfort, receiving Your power, confidence in our Inheritance, Your commissioning us as Christ's ambassadors, and ultimately the reflection of Your glory in us.

In Jesus Christ's Name,

Amen

18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.2 Cor 3

God's purpose in this letter is to show us that when anyone comes to Christ, the veil is removed. This veil had closed our eyes from beholding the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God. This Light that the believer now beholds in Christ transforms the new man such that he is continually filled with the Godly sorrow that results in repentance from the deeds of the flesh. The beholding of God's glory transforms him in an ever-increasing manner into the Image of God with all His comfort, power, assurance, purpose, holiness, and GLORY. It is precisely the unveiling of our face that occurs through the belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the beholding of the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God that transforms us so that we bear His likeness.

I. The Veil

As we were born into the world, our hearts were filled with disbelief. This disbelief constituted the veil that perpetually remained over our eyes. Our disbelief was manifested in all of the sinful attitudes and inclinations of our hearts. We worshiped the gods of the world and the greed for the pleasures and materials of the world corrupted our being. Our hearts had delighted in wickedness for we were "foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). Our refusal to believe in the Gospel was the veil that remained over our eyes. The effect of this veil was that when we read the Law of God presented to Moses, our minds were dull and though we often tried, we were unable to conceive or contrive any way of obeying the Law. The veil prevented us from seeing the noble outcome of His righteousness. The veil prevented us from finding joy in His Words or from delighting in sacrificing broken and contrite hearts to Him. We did not know the eternal worth of walking according to His commands. In our blindness we simply could not understand the benefit of obeying Him. We could not understand the benefit of obedience because in our disbelief we had never beheld Him. We had never beheld the splendor of His glory and the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God with all Its perfect Agape, joy, peace, and soul satisfaction.

13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.2 Cor 3

Furthermore, our faces became downcast as Cain's face was downcast in his deep anger over God refusing to look on his offering with favor. He had not done what was right and "sin was crouching at his door" desiring to have him and he could never master it unless the veil could some how be removed (Gen 4:5-7). We were like the rich man whose face fell in his sadness that he was unwilling to give up his great wealth for the sake of the Kingdom (Mark 10:22). We were filled with dread in the blindness of our hearts for deep in our souls we knew only guilt and shame. Without His intervention we would have been like those who 'called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the Face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Rev 6 '

Though the Gospel has been presented to many, the same veil remains over the eyes of those who do not believe for the god of this age has blinded their minds so that they cannot see the Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ who is the Image of God. For us who have believed, we have experienced the glory of Christ, the Image of God, at the foot of the cross and the overcome grave, and we have seen His glory in His love poured out. His love has drawn our hearts to Him and we have desired His glory and Presence, yes, the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ, far more than anything else. And yet, for those who are blinded in their minds, the Gospel is not regarded as glorious. They are unable to behold theTruth and grace revealed at the cross. They are unable to comprehend the love of the Father. They are unable to repent of their wickedness for they had never seen Him. Nothing had been revealed to them of the glory of God as long as disbelief, the veil, remained over their hearts. They could find no reason to leave everything behind and follow Christ. They considered it foolishness to walk in the humble footsteps of Christ. They cannot discern the Voice of the Lord. They did not love Truth. In their blindness, their minds could not comprehend the worth of the Pearl of greatest price.

3 And even if our Gospel is veiled, It is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ, who is the Image of God.2 Cor 4

II. The Removal of the Veil in Christ

15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.2 Cor 3

In His preordained time, He removes the veil from the hearts of His children. He removes their unbelief through the faith that the Spirit instills in our hearts as we hear the Word of Christ. He enables us to come to Him for "No one can come to Me [Christ] unless the Father has enabled Him" (John 6:65). The same Father had called out to us "Turn to Me all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other" (Is 45:22). The Spirit open our eyes to behold our great need for forgiveness and redemption in view of our astounding unworthiness and falling short of His glory. His movement of our hearts causes us to seek the Lord our God with tears, to turn our faces towards His way, to come and bind ourselves to the Lord through His everlasting Covenant that will never be forgotten.

4 “In those days, at that time,”declares the Lord,“the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.5 They will ask the way to Zionand turn their faces toward it.They will come and bind themselves to the Lordin an everlasting Covenant that will not be forgotten.Jer 50

In order to come to the Lord, that is, to believe in the Gospel, we had to see our sin, we had to acknowledge the Truth of His justice. We had to believe that His death and resurrection was our only hope of salvation. And by His power alone, He has moved us to believe in Him, and to acknowledge the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We had to acknowledge the Sovereignty of God and the reverence that was due Him for His great glory and worth. We had to fear Him in order to come to Him. As we believed the Truth in our hearts, the veil was removed. Just as the veil in the temple was torn in two so that men could enter the Presence of God forgiven and justified, the veil that had stood immovable over our hearts was removed with His righteous right Hand and mighty power. He spoke His Words of comfort and love that we are not to be afraid for He is the Living One who is raised to Life forever and ever. He has defeated the separation of our souls from God. When we came to Him and cast ourselves onto Him for our salvation, He has removed the veil and we could finally see Him Whom we had never beheld before!

16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.Rev 1

III. The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the Light of the Knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4

God has lovingly removed the veil so that we could see His glory. Now that we have seen His glory, we have the Knowledge of the Glory of God. We know what it is to gaze at His beauty. We know the beautiful effect of walking in forgiveness and love. We know the peace that we experience as we walk humbly with Christ and deny the flesh. We know the contentment of knowing Christ and sharing in the fellowship of the Spirit. All of these gifts and blessings given to us by the Spirit fill us with the Knowledge of the Glory of God. An academic pursuit does not constitute the Knowledge of the Glory of God. For the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer is known to the hearts of these believers in a way that brings life and power to live in righteousness and holiness. The true Knowledge of the glory of God always results in holiness. And any claim of knowledge of the glory of God must be accompanied by the bearing of good fruit and the likeness of Christ in the one who possesses this knowledge. For the Knowledge of this Divine glory is filled with Light that reveals the Truth of God in a way that those who lack the Knowledge of God's glory can never understand. Before we came to Christ, we did not have this Light and thus our hearts remained veiled and darkened to the understanding of Him. But the Knowledge of the Glory of God "reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and Light dwells with Him" (Dan 2:22). Your Knowledge of His Glory is to you, dear saint, as a Lamp by which you view the world. For in the City of God, "the glory of God gives It Light, and the Lamb is Its Lamp" (Rev 21:23) and Jesus Himself is the Light of the world. 4 They will see His face, and His Name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them Light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Rev 22 The work of His Spirit and Word in our hearts to make us new creations has given us knowledge of the nature of the Holy One and this knowledge reveals the Truth about everything we encounter. The greatest discernment is given to us as we use our "Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God"

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the Truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”John 3

There is a Divine Truth that the sight of the Glory of God transforms the faith-filled beholder into the likeness of God. This is why John says "2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3" Even as we have the hope in our complete perfection when we behold Him, we are coming to the Lord and our veil is taken away so that we may see His glory in part now. We cannot see Him and fail to reflect Him as we become like Him in His righteous and holy nature. As Stephen was stoned and beheld the Son of Man "His face was like the face of an angel" (Acts 6:15). The goodness of our Father fills our eyes with His good Light 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matt 6 The wisdom of Christ explains to us the ways of righteousness and the folly of the sin of the world. As we possess His wisdom, our faces are brightened and the hard appearances that they formerly had are changed. For in our blindness, fear, hypocrisy, greed, and hatred our faces had a hard appearance. But the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God had removed this appearance and granted to us the reflection of the heavenly Light in our faces.

Who is like the wise man?

Who knows the explanation of things?Wisdom brightens a man’s faceand changes its hard appearance.Ecc 8:1

The God of love has eternally bestowed His blessing on us and He has made His face shine upon us and been gracious to us. He has turned His face towards us and the result is that we are given peace.

24 “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward youand give you peace. ”’Num 6

The result of this Light is that we are given a great assurance and confidence in our Inheritance in Christ and our standing in Him. The firm Foundation that we stand on makes our faces like flint and we no longer cower in shame or hide in fear from the men and events of the world. We have the knowledge of His vindication and the knowledge that there was only One who had power to condemn us and this One has received and loved us. Our fear of man is removed with the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God.

7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,I will not be disgraced.Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser?Let him confront me!9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.Who is he that will condemn me?They will all wear out like a garment;the moths will eat them up. Is 50

Our eternal standing in Christ is guaranteed by the Presence of His Spirit in our hearts. The ongoing work of the Spirit in our hearts to cause us to see His glory again and again confirm to us that we are in Him and that His Covenant with us cannot be revoked. Our deeper understanding of the immutability of His Covenant removes our fear of the future or the outcome of earthly events. The stronger is our belief in His Covenant, the weaker is our fear and worry over our earthly affairs. Our confidence is placed in His Promise of Eternal Life and the Home of righteousness that is to come. We no longer regard the concept of safety and security in an earthly sense. We lose these notions as we comprehend that our bodies were made for the Spirit and we are to be willing to go through whatever He has intended for us to fulfill the work of the Kingdom on earth. Pleasing, knowing, and obeying Him become our safety and security.

18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.2 Cor 1

Another aspect of the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God is the comfort that we receive from God in the midst of all our troubles. His glory conveys to our souls the deepest comfort that frees us from the troubling of the soul. In this way we "do not let our hearts be troubled" but we "trust in God" and we "trust also in Me [Christ]" (John 14:1). As we behold His comfort, we reflect this comfort to the other saints. Do we reflect the Light of the Knowledge of God's glorious comfort to each other? Do we see this Light in each other?

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Cor 1

The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God causes us to willingly renounce secret and shameful ways. When we have seen His majesty, there is a disdain and even illness that would come over us to harbor secret and shameful ways in our lives. We have seen the glory of righteousness and everything else is utterly and fearfully dark. This is the fear of God that prevents us from sinning. Our heart's desire after seeing Him is only to be near to Him and we cry out "As for me it is good to be near God" (Ps 73:28). In this sense we commend ourselves to every man's conscience as we set forth the Truth plainly. We have nothing to hide for we have renounced the secrets sins of the flesh and heart. Yes, often in faith we renounce them with pain, but He surely comes to us soon with His comfort and joy. He satisfies us with the "Bread of sincerity and Truth" (I Cor 5:8).

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the Truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. .... 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Cor 4

As we see the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God we are transformed so that everywhere we are we spread the fragrance of the Knowledge of Him. What a great task He has given to us!: to spread the fragrance of the very Knowledge of God so that the chosen people may be brought to salvation. We speak before God with sincerity even as we speak of Him before men. We are sent by Him and are speaking for His pleasure and glory. This fragrance and aroma is unseen, but in faith we know that when we have known Him, we certainly carry this scent which is clearly and distinctly detected by everyone and which reminds them of their condemnation or draws them to their eternal salvation in Christ.

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the Knowledge of Him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.2 Cor 2

When we have seen Him, He commits to us His Message of reconciliation. Our sight of Him allows us to be Christ's ambassadors. God makes His appeal through us. We have seen His glory and He has captivated our hearts forever. We have bound ourselves to Him and He has chosen us to bear His Name. How can it be that the One whom we could not see and whom we had so greatly revolted against in our former life has allowed us to represent Him and He has chosen to make His very own appeal through us? He has loved us so dearly and He has shown us His glorious self though we are so undeserving!

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God,who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.2 Cor 5

The Knowledge of His Glory enables us to use His divine weapons. Included in the Knowledge of His Glory is the vision of the Divine weapons. When we see His glory we are able to use the Light of this Knowledge to demolish both the strongholds in our personal lives as well as arguments and pretensions that set themselves up against this Knowledge. Without having the Light of this Knowledge, we were left with only useless earthly warfare which did not regard the glory of God. But with this Knowledge comes the discernment to see what stands in opposition to the Light and how we are to use the weapons of His own power which are able to break them down.

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the Knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10

IV. The Ongoing Transformation through the Father's Discipline

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you —unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the Truth, but only for the Truth. 2 Cor 13

As we remember that we are "being transformed into His likeness with ever-INCREASING glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" we are trusting in the Father to bring about this transformation that comes with ever -increasing revelations of His glory. We are relying on Him to continue to deliver us from all sorts of temptations and attacks from the enemy. For if we faltered in even one sin and were given over to our flesh of disbelief, we could be hardened eternally. But for His children, He is constantly acting on our behalf to present us "as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Eph 5:27) and to "strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the Presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones" (I Thess 3:13). For if we had seen His glory once when we first came to the Lord and then never saw It again, we could fall away from grace and forget the Words of Life, turn our backs on the Gospel, and fall away into the deceitfulness of sin. But in His great mercy and love, He has chosen to transform us into His likeness with an ever-increasing glory. Not only does He cause us to maintain the work which He has already done inside of us, but the Spirit is working to give us a greater and greater knowledge of the glory of God. He reveals His glory again and again in ways that are newer and greater to us. In this way, a true believers life will not stay stagnant forever, but will certainly become filled with an increasing manifestation of the Spirit's work. The believers life will become more and more set-apart in holiness, purity, and love. The love of believers for their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for all of His people will grow as the eyes of the heart are opened by the Spirit and as "God pours His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5).

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.2 Cor 4

The way in which God reveals His glory in an ever-increasing manner is His Fatherly discipline. He will allow great trials, tribulations, temptations, and persecution to come upon His people. But He uses these events as means to show His glory to His people. He will even allow them to bear the yoke of disgrace, shame, and grief for a time in order to reveal His glorious compassion and unfailing love. In this sense it is always better for us to bear any yoke that comes with seeking Him in order that we may behold the glory that awaits us in Him. When we feel the yokes of disgrace, shame, and grief coming our way, we are so apt to put up our feeble defenses and attempt to avoid the sorrow that looms. And yet, for those who know what it is to be broken and mended by Him, their humble and contrite spirits allow them to come under these yokes with the full knowledge that their heavenly Father will soon reveal His glory. Their hearts whisper "I will take on this yoke if only I may behold Your glory once more". Taking on the yoke often means denying the flesh and standing firm throughout the Spiritual battles that exist. It may mean speaking forth the Gospel though a shroud of earthly disgrace may envelope you because of your knowledge that "the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" as you are insulted for the Name of Christ (I Peter 4:14). Taking the yoke may be willingly and joyfully receiving the Father's discipline for the sin of the flesh that had been the source of a fierce Spiritual struggle. The Father may cut off some earthly asset in order to purge the evil from within us. When this purging happens, we rejoice in it for the battle had weighed hard on our hearts and we had longed for the victory of righteousness and holiness in our lives. Do we take on the yoke so that we may be filled with the character of Christ?

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yokewhile he is young.28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him.29 Let him bury his face in the dust —there may yet be hope. 30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.31 For men are not cast offby the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,so great is his unfailing love. 33 For he does not willingly bring afflictionor grief to the children of men.Lam 3

In order to make His glory known to us, He allows hardships and sufferings so that we are under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure. For this reason we despaired of life and felt the sentence of death in our hearts. But the children of God will always resort to their Father in times like these. The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God causes them to resort to Him and nowhere else. They have no other Rock. They know not one. As they rely on God, God reveals His resurrection power to them. The Knowledge of the Glory of the resurrection power further transforms us into His Image and grants us power to walk in righteousness and in faith in numerous areas of our lives. It is a great mystery that when we receive His power to endure a certain trial in our life, we find that the same power overflows into other areas of our life. And when we receive the victory over a certain sin or temptation, we find that the gratefulness and purity in this area purges several other areas of our life. For the glory of God that is revealed in our weakness is never simply about healing our weakness, but more importantly about revealing His all-surpassing power and glory that is from God and not from us (2 Cor 4:7). God often takes hold of our souls through some specific earthly trial, temptation, or time, and yet His eternal purpose is to reveal His infinite glory to us which is able to transform every area of our life and grant us power over every weakness of the flesh and every tribulation that we face.

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Cor 1

Though we are already purified and justified by accepting the Word that has been planted inside of us, when we have gone astray, He allows us to be filled with Godly sorrow. This Godly sorrow results in repentance and leads to salvation and leaves no regret. Many of us look back to the sins which we have committed after we have trusted in Christ and we regret that we had grieved our Savior and we desire to have walked in holiness if we could somehow relive those time periods. And yet, as we look back to how He allowed us to experience Godly sorrow that led to repentance, we see how He had used even our faults to reveal His grace and mercy. He has taught us innumerable Truths and has strengthened our souls in His grace even through these times when we had gone astray. In this sense the Godly sorrow that brought repentance has left no regret. For we have come out of these times cleansed and forgiven and with a deeper understanding of His glorious grace for which we praise Him. Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Cor 7 It is not as though we would desire now to have sinned or to continue in sin with the hope for such a revelation of His glory, for what we truly desire is to see Him and to fear Him so that we will never turn away from Him (Jer 32:40). Though He had chosen to reveal His glory through the grace shown in the midst of our sinfulness, once we had seen His glory, if we had truly seen It, we would be changed such that we would not want to repeat the same acts of wickedness. The Knowledge of His glory removes the blindness of heart that results in the thinking that we could "go on sinning so that grace may increase" (Rom 6:1).

9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.2 Cor 7

There is a great responsibility and accountability of the soul that comes along with beholding the glory of God. For if we had seen first-hand the working of the Holy Spirit in our own soul and ultimately turned our backs in scorn against God, we would have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and be eternally condemned. And when we have seen God's glory and then stop seeing It for a time, there is the temptation of the flesh to become conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations. For during the time when we are seeing His glory, the only response we may have is one of gratitude as we comprehend His infinite worth. Our view of ourselves becomes lesser and lesser as we behold His glory more and more. But once we had stopped to seek Him with all of our hearts and when we are hardened to the working of the Spirit by the Word, our souls are in great danger. For when humans continue to harbor conceit, they "fall under the same judgement as the devil" (I Tim 3:6). As we read these Words we realize that we ought to be very grateful that our Father disciplines us and humbles us. Though Paul pleaded with God to remove his thorn in the flesh, he acknowledges that the thorn was given to him to keep him from being conceited for he had been given surpassingly great revelations of heaven.

7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Cor 12

Dear saint, you have a testimony of His grace to you up until this day. But remember that you must continue to possess the Light that comes from your Knowledge of the Glory of God. A deep brokenness and reverence for God will accompany this Knowledge. This Knowledge will increase Your love for Him. This Knowledge will keep you from falling. This Knowledge will transform You into His Likeness causing you to become pure and holy, set-apart only for Him. You will tremble as You hear the Word of God because You will hear Them with the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in your hand. You will willingly die to self in order that Christ may be revealed in you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you. You will "hunger and thirst for righteousness" and as He promises "You will be filled" (Matt 5:6). The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God will accompany great tribulation and denial of self. But the power of His resurrection is about to be revealed in the midst of these storms.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

STAND UP AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, BECAUSE YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR (Luke 21:28)

About Me

In the Scriptures the Shepherd’s eternal Covenant is a cutting out of His people from all that is devoted to destruction as they approach Him through His flesh and by His blood, a passing through of God’s presence among His people just as the smoking oven and flaming torch passed through the torn pieces of flesh that Abraham offered (Gen 15:12-16), the binding or marriage of two parties, that is, the reconciliation of Christ and His church, and the creation of a new kingdom and people, whose souls are perfected. We were dead in trespasses and sins, just as Abraham fell into a deep sleep and great terror and darkness came upon him, and God has established His Covenant by the strength of His own righteous arm (Eph 2:1, Gen 15:12).